In the Sea of Consciousness, ten balls of light still circled overhead in a ring. The small gray ball rested quietly beside the Sea of Consciousness, giving off a strange pulsation.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm wriggled his plump body, marveling as he looked at Huo Yuhao's spiritual form:
"Yuhao, you know what? After you correctly interpret other people's inner thoughts through their actions and expressions, the Chaos Qi you gain can actually improve the very essence of your Sea of Consciousness!"
"But this little puddle has only gotten a bit bigger." Huo Yuhao lowered his head to look, puzzled.
"Not so, not so!" the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm huffed. "Your Brother Sky Dream is the one and only million-year soul beast, and one with a Mental Attribute, at that. After living all these years, what haven't I seen?"
"But I really have never seen a method of improving the essence of the Sea of Consciousness like this."
"You can't tell yet, but I estimate that once you reach three or four rings and your spiritual power reaches the level of a Soul Emperor or Soul Saint, you'll be able to directly sense the qualitative change in your Sea of Consciousness. Perhaps it will grant you even more incredible abilities."
Huo Yuhao spread his hands regretfully. "Unfortunately, the Soul Masters I usually come into contact with generally have low cultivation. And with someone far above me, like Brother Bujue, even if I can grasp his thoughts, it's still hard to condense Chaos Qi."
"I'm more worried about your cultivation progress than that." The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's tone turned gloomy. "It's certainly wonderful that you learned to make Level 1 Soul Tools in a month, but over that whole month, your Soul Power only increased by half a level."
"What can I do about that?" Huo Yuhao was helpless too. Before this, he had also relied on meditation to grind his way forward slowly.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly had an idea. "This Feng Bujue thinks quite highly of you. Why not find a way to get him to procure some pills for you?"
"But pills that help increase Soul Power can easily cost hundreds or thousands of Gold Soul Coins..." Though tempted, Huo Yuhao still refused. "Brother Sky Dream, I've already caused Brother Bujue a lot of trouble. I don't want to deliberately scheme for his money on top of that."
"Oh!" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body jolted as though he had sensed something, and he said excitedly, "That may be what you think, but you seem to have underestimated how much he values you."
"Yuhao, are you meditating?" Feng Bujue's voice came from outside, accompanied by a knock at the door.
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes and opened the door, feeling somewhat puzzled. Over the past month, he had become fairly familiar with everyone else in the trading company and learned their work routines.
At this hour before dawn, the trading company would normally be receiving supplies, while Feng Bujue would ordinarily still be fast asleep.
Why would he come knocking?
"You're in luck, little brother Huo!" Feng Bujue entered with a hearty laugh, closed the door, and only then tipped the contents of the small porcelain bottle in his hand onto his palm.
They were two deep-blue pills, each the size of a cherry, covered in white markings of varying shades. Once poured out of the porcelain bottle, the pills were shrouded in a faint layer of mist. A fresh fragrance lingered in the air; even a whiff was enough to refresh the heart and soothe the soul.
"Mystic Water Pills!" Feng Bujue thoughtfully began explaining.
"Mystic Water Pills come from the Xuanming Sect in the Heaven Dou Empire. Not only are they highly nourishing and capable of increasing Soul Power, their medicinal properties are also extremely mild. Soul Masters of any level can absorb their effects well. For Soul Masters below level twenty, they can raise Soul Power by at least one level. But their most precious quality isn't that-it's their ability to cleanse the sinews and transform the marrow."
"For Soul Masters with good talent, they mostly just provide a boost, adding flowers to brocade. But for Soul Masters with terrible talent like us, they're hugely significant. A single Mystic Water Pill can improve an ordinary Soul Master's potential by at least the equivalent of one level of Innate Soul Power. That's an enhancement to talent and constitution."
"If I'd gotten a mild pill of this caliber when I first started cultivating, I might be a Level 6 Soul Engineer by now and have passed the entrance exam for the Illustrious Virtue Hall."
At this point, Feng Bujue grew somewhat wistful. He put the pills back into the porcelain bottle and placed it in Huo Yuhao's hand. "They're yours."
Huo Yuhao found it hard to refuse. He took a deep breath, suppressing the stinging in his nose:
"Brother Bujue, how much did these pills cost?"
"Only a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins or so. Don't worry, I have several hundred thousand saved up. It's just a splash of water. Really, you were lucky. The large trading company backing this little company I work for actually came across someone selling Mystic Water Pills in Shrek City. If I'd acted even a little slower, they would've been gone. What a coincidence, right?"
"Otherwise, arranging to get pills from the Sun Moon Empire would not only take a month, they wouldn't have the effect of improving your potential either."
Feng Bujue smiled easily, but that damned markup had hurt him quite a bit. After a moment's thought, he said, "Don't feel burdened by it. I have my own selfish reasons too."
Huo Yuhao was somewhat puzzled. Was there something Feng Bujue could gain from this?
Feng Bujue said candidly:
"What I'm doing is a kind of investment. I've been in Shrek City for several years, and I still haven't found a way to help me push my Soul Power to level fifty."
"You'll definitely go much further in the future and obtain better resources. When that happens, you'll have the ability to help me too."
"Brother Bujue, you could invest in plenty of people, but you chose me. No matter what, I'll remember this kindness," Huo Yuhao said solemnly. "Words of thanks are too small for such a great favor. In the future, as long as I have a bite of meat to eat, you'll have a mouthful of broth to drink!"
Wasn't that exactly what Feng Bujue wanted to hear?
After a month together, he was confident he had a general understanding of Huo Yuhao's character: resilient, grateful, eager for affection, and fond of observing others.
In truth, he was much like Feng Bujue had been as a child. The only difference was that Huo Yuhao's talent as a Soul Engineer shone too brightly to ignore.
"All right, make sure you remember that." Feng Bujue accepted with a smile, patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder, and turned to leave. "Take one first, then the other in half a month. That'll give you the best results."
Huo Yuhao closed the door and sat cross-legged on the bed. He took out a Mystic Water Pill, examined it closely for a moment, then swallowed it.
In the morning light, the faint blue glow emanating from Huo Yuhao was particularly distinct. A thin layer of mist seemed to float over the surface of his body, giving off a faint, fresh fragrance as it spread.
His skin seemed to ripple slightly, and amid those ripples, tiny streams of air continuously escaped from his pores. The pale-blue mist kept flowing into his pores, then back out. As time passed, the mist gradually deepened in color, while its fresh fragrance slowly faded.
Throughout this process, Huo Yuhao's Soul Power climbed steadily:
The peak of level eleven, level twelve, the peak of level twelve, level thirteen!
In Feng Bujue's room, he pondered briefly, took out a sheet of white paper, laid it on the desk, and began writing.
A letter to my elder cousin:
Elder cousin, may this letter find you well.
Your humble younger cousin Bujue has now chanced upon a heaven-gifted Soul Tool prodigy in Shrek. He is eleven years old, and though he knew little about Soul Tools, he possesses a Mental Attribute Martial Soul, extraordinary comprehension, and a divine skill in the field of Soul Tools. He took only one month to go from complete ignorance of Soul Tools to the level of a Level 1 Soul Engineer. He is truly a rare piece of unpolished jade. Considering that you are a senior researcher at the Illustrious Virtue Hall with profound attainments in Soul Tools, among all my acquaintances, you alone are qualified to guide this child.
I intend to first teach and polish him myself. Once he has built the foundations of a Level 2 Soul Engineer, I will bring him to our academy and ask you to nurture him with care.
This matter concerns the child's future and would also bring talent to our academy. I hope you will agree.
Your younger cousin Bujue bows his head.
Before you continue